Family
by Ashyx
Summary: eh...bad title like always. This revolves mainly around Ulquiorra. I don't know what genre to put it in, either. Anyways, Ulquiorra lives with Ichigo and he's really OOC, for the first few chapters. he's not hyper, I promise you that. rated T to be safe
1. 1: Prologue

**Yes, so I've decided to add a prologue to this fic just so it explains everything. I like writing this fic X3 Ulquiorra-torture (kinda…)**

**Warning: OOC Ulquiorra (towards the end), mild swearing on Ichigo's part, violence**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters.**

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Emerald eyes looked around at the buildings of Karakura town. Again, he had descended down to the living world to find Ichigo Kurosaki so he could get rid of him once and for all – Aizen's orders. Sighing, the Arrancar could only see the skyscrapers of the city and normal, everyday people. Oh, he'd made a huge dent in the ground, like when he and Yammy landed here, and it was causing a huge traffic jam since he landed in the street. Oh well, it wasn't exactly his problem right now.

Ulquiorra stepped out from the crater-like impression and towards where he believed the Kurosaki's house was.

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"Yamamoto-sou-taichou!" a shinigami from the twelfth squad gasped as he bowed to the Gotei 13's general, "We have detected an Arrancar's presence in the human world!"

"Is there only one?" the much older shinigami asked seriously.

"Yes, sir," the messenger replied and Yamamoto stood up.

"Send word to Hitsugaya-taichou, Soifon-taichou and Zaraki-taichou," he ordered and the lower-ranked shinigami scurried away.

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"Yamaoto-sou-taichou," Hitsugaya started, "You sent for us?"

"Yes, it seems that there is an Arrancar in the town of Karakura," the General replied gravely, "We must eliminate it, and therefore I chose the three shinigami that I think would do the job correctly: Hitsugaya-taichou, Soifon-taichou and Zaraki-taichou."

The three captains nodded in understanding and Yamamoto summoned the gate that led to the living world. All four shinigami stepped through it to search for the Arrancar.

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Ulquiorra froze as he felt four different, and very powerful, reiatsus flood through the air not very far away from him. But then they disappeared, their owners had masked their spirit energy.

_Where are they?_ Ulquiorra thought as he started sprinting towards Ichigo's house; it was only a block or two away by now and the night sky was settling in across the horizon.

He skidded to a halt when two figures flash-stepped in front of him. It was a fearsome-looking man with an eye patch and a much-shorter boy with pure-white hair. Neither looked very friendly so Ulquiorra was sure they were there to destroy him.

"Set upon the frozen heavens," the short kid commanded as he unsheathed his Zanpakuto, "Hyourinmaru."

So they were captains from Soul Society.

"Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" the one Ulquiorra decided to call "the brat" yelled and ice, in the forms of wings, gathered at his back and icy claws formed on his left hand.

The night suddenly became much colder and the Arrancar found himself starting to shiver. He turned his head slightly when he heard two pairs of footsteps – barely hearable – step up a few yards behind him. It was a mistake, of course, to avert his attention to the people behind him. How could he be so _stupid_?

"The brat" took the opportunity to attack Ulquiorra's undefended front. Hyourinmaru's point almost impaled the half-hollow's chest but Ulquiorra had unsheathed his sword enough to keep that from happening. Like vultures, Zaraki and Soifon lunged forward. Ulquiorra was forced to fully unsheathe his Zanpakuto and, after series of stabbing, slashing and parrying ensued and, when the three captains stepped away, Ulquiorra was surprised to find that his legs were a bit shaky under him. He could still stand, though, so he at least had a chance against the three captains.

His grip on his sword's hilt tightened and Ulquiorra slashed the blade across Zaraki's chest. He was too fast for the captain and Zaraki stumbled back a bit with a deep gouge running from his left shoulder to his right hip. It didn't really stop him though; it just made the eleventh squad captain more bloodthirsty.

A blur was seen out of the corner of the Arrancar's deep-green eyes and, a second later, Soifon had grazed Ulquiorra's shoulder with Suzumebachi. The cut was not deep enough to activate the Zanpakuto's ability. Ulquiorra struck out at her with his sword but she dodged to the side and he was forced to shift his position as Hitsugaya and Zaraki both charged at him. The Arrancar struck out with his Zanpakuto several more times, giving the shinigami plenty of injuries, but he stopped when somehow Soifon stabbed him in the side. Knowing what her Zanpakuto could do, Ulquiorra backed away from her but ended up running into Zaraki. The captain grinned like a madman and struck Ulquiorra hard over the head with the flat of his blade, effectively stunning his opponent. Ulquiorra fell to his knees, holding the un-masked side of his head and keeping a grip on his Zanpakuto with his other hand.

"Yamamoto-sou-taichou," Hitsugaya said in monotone as he stepped back from the fight a few paces, and the old shinigami nodded, meaning that it was time to carry out the final part of their plan.

The pale-haired genius shifted his hold on his Zanpakuto a bit before speaking gravely:

"Thousand years ice prison."

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed in irritation when ice started to encase his left leg. But suddenly his instincts kicked in, and he started to panic – something he never thought he would do - because his limb was becoming extremely numb and the ice was slowly creeping up his body, he stood up and tried to dodge the swipe Hitsugaya aimed at him but the ice held him in place.

A splash of blood flew through the night from Ulquiorra's right shoulder and spattered onto the streetlight-lit pavement. Ulquiorra was panting. He was supposed to be stronger than this! If Luppi could defeat this white-headed brat, so could he. But why was the old man just hanging around, away from the fight? That made Ulquiorra come to the conclusion that the elder was probably much stronger than any of the three shinigami he was currently fighting.

"Disintegrate, You Black Dog of Rondanini. Look upon yourself with Horror. And then claw out your own throat!" The youngest captain's voice snapped him back to attention, "Way of binding, Number 9, Geki!"

Ulquiorra's eyes flashed in the red glow that surrounded him. He couldn't move. He was paralyzed, and it terrified him. This fight was like a never-ending nightmare.

Now the oldest shinigami stepped forward, his fingers bent into a hand sign as he recited another spell. He mumbled something quietly under his breath but raised his voice to utter the last part.

"Way of binding number 13, Aku bankin (Great demon seal)!" he barked and a white mist clouded around Ulquiorra.

The Arrancar's sword clattered to the ground, out of reach, and its owner followed closely after it. With a light **_thump_** Ulquiorra was sprawled onto his side, green eyes partially-clouded in fatigue while he tried to summon the strength to reach out and grab his Zanpakuto. Horrific thoughts raced through his panicking mind and wracked his brain. He was going to die; he was really going to die (for a second time)! His thoughts continued like this until he submitted to the darkness of unconsciousness.

"Are his powers sealed?" Soifon asked, watching her limp enemy like a hawk.

"Yes, he is not a threat at the moment," Yamamoto declared.

"Then will you kill him?" a new voice asked and the group of elite shinigami turned to see an ex-taichou (in shinigami form) walking towards them.

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Isshin Kurosaki had sneaked out of the house once he sensed an Arrancar's presence. He changed into his shinigami form so no one would see him leaving.

After walking for only a few minutes, the man had found the Arrancar, along with Yamamoto-sou taichou and three other shinigami captains, not very far away from his house. He watched as the general sealed away the enemy's powers and waited a few moments before speaking.

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"Kurosaki," Yamamoto said.

"If his powers are sealed is there really a point in wasting time killing him?" Isshin asked.

Yamamoto gave him a knowing glance and looked back at Ulquiorra who looked like he was either unconscious or sleeping, either way his eyes were closed and he was not moving.

"Your binding spell will keep his powers sealed forever, correct? So he could be interrogated and we may get the upper hand in this battle with Aizen and the Arrancar," Isshin tried to reason with the old General, "And he can be left in the human world without us having to worry that he will hurt someone."

Yamamoto sighed. Isshin Kurosaki, ex-taichou of the Gotei 13, was actually coming up with something more reasonable than some of the things any other captains had said in the past months.

"Keeping him in the human world may also make him feel less intimidated," Isshin continued, "Since most people cannot see him and there are not as many shinigami around him."

"Are you trying to tell me you will keep him at your house, with a son who has a deep grudge against all of the Arrancar?" Yamamoto asked, "Can your son be trusted not to attack him?"

"He will leave him alone once I explain why he is here," the dad replied.

"Then I trust you will find something out from him," Yamamoto said, "And report it to Urahara so he can tell Soul Society."

Isshin nodded and the general led Soifon, Zaraki and Hitsugaya back to Soul Society. Once they were gone, he heard the silent scuffling of wooden shoes.

"Well, looks like you beat me here," Urahara stated as he walked through the dark streets, "So you're going to keep him at your house? Ichigo doesn't seem like the type to leave this guy alone just because you tell him to…"

"I'll make sure he does," Isshin replied, kneeling next to Ulquiorra.

"Need any help getting him back home?"

"No, I can manage," Isshin said as he picked up the – surprisingly light – half-hollow and shinigami.

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Olive eyes blinked, disoriented, as Ulquiorra slowly sat up and looked around the room he was in. Well, it didn't seem to be very big – it was more like a closet. Actually, it _was_ a closet! A closet with a bed built into it. Where was he? Certainly this wasn't Soul Society?

He heard two voices murmuring somewhere near him and felt around him before he felt the wall slide a bit. Ulquiorra got a firmer grip on it and discovered it was a sliding door. He opened it slightly to see Ichigo Kurosaki and his dad discussing something while sitting on the teenager's bed across from the closet.

"Just deal with him being here, alright? He can't hurt anyone since his powers have been sealed so there's nothing to worry about," Isshin assured his son but Ichigo still looked doubtful.

Ulquiorra backed away from the door, scared that there were two very powerful shinigami only a few feet away from him. He had a reason to be scared, too; some shinigami had almost killed him earlier.

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"Dad?" Ichigo had asked when his dad – still in his shinigami form – walked into the house, carrying someone in his arms.

"Ichigo, go get the other bed in your room ready," Isshin told him and the teenager did as he was told, not knowing what was going on.

His dad came upstairs a few minutes later in his body, carrying bandages and antiseptic. Then Ichigo recognized who the stranger was.

"Dad!" he hissed, "That's an **_Arrancar_**! What the hell are you doing helping him?!"

"His powers are sealed away and Soul Society has agreed to keep him alive so he can be questioned," Isshin explained calmly, "Now either help me clean him up or fix the bed for him."

Fuming, Ichigo chose to get the sheets and blankets fitted around the mattress in his closet instead of helping an enemy. Why did his dad trust that…_thing_? His kind had killed numerous shinigami and was on Aizen's side! What part of that did his dad not understand?

Isshin had finished treating Ulquiorra's more serious wounds and set him on the spare bed. He closed the closet's door and turned to his son. The kid was practically having to restrain himself from throwing open the closet's door and strangling the unaware Arrancar.

"Ichigo, let me explain a bit better," he sighed.

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**Aaaand there's the prologue! Hope you liked it. **

**I made up that "Way of binding 13" spell so if it's translated wrong I'm sorry.**

**Please review!**


	2. 2: meeting Yuzu

**Ok, so I've decided to continue this story since Ax112 mentioned it.**

**Aand I've learnt a bit more about Ulquiorra so I hope I can kinda…write this better…**

**Warning: OOC Ulquiorra**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

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"So, Karin is at a two-day sleepover so she won't get to meet him until she gets back," Isshin thought out loud, "And Yuzu was asleep when I brought him home…"

"Morning, dad," Ichigo yawned as he walked over to the rice cooker in the kitchen.

"Is he up?" Isshin asked. Ichigo knew his dad meant Ulquiorra.

"Nah," the teenager replied and devoured the rice he ate as he plopped into a chair at the table.

Perfect. Isshin would introduce Ulquiorra to Yuzu when she came down for breakfast!

"I'll go get him, then," he said and went up to Ichigo's room.

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Isshin was greeted by a soft snoring the moment he opened the bedroom's door. He crept over to the closet, seeing that the door was cracked open a little.

_Ichigo was probably making sure he hadn't escaped or something_, the man thought with some slight humor before he fully opened the closet door.

The snoring stopped abruptly and emerald-hued eyes snapped open. Seeing a shinigami in front of him, Ulquiorra's hand immediately darted to his sword's hilt.

Except it wasn't here.

Ulquiorra snapped his attention to his left side where his Zanpakuto once was. Staring nervously at Isshin, since the younger man was unable to defend himself if the shinigami decided to attack, Ulquiorra quietly stated the obvious.

"My Zanpakuto's missing," he said meekly.

"You wouldn't be able to fight with it anyways; it was sealed into the sheath – you wouldn't be able to take it out," Isshin informed him but it didn't help make the Arrancar calmer.

"And…what are you going to do to me," Ulquiorra asked with a vast amount of fear in his voice.

"I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you mean," Isshin said, but changed the subject, "Why don't you come downstairs and have something to eat?"

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The mention of food reminded Ulquiorra of how long it had been since he last ate. But, determined not to give Isshin a reason to get angry with him for eating the entire kitchen, Ulquiorra became stubborn.

"I'm…not hungry," he whispered but his stomach betrayed him by gurgling angrily.

The ex-taichou smirked at the younger man's futile attempt to lie and led him downstairs.

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Ichigo scowled through a mouthful of rice when he saw his dad leading the Arrancar towards the kitchen. Ulquiorra stood away from Isshin as the shinigami readied the coffee maker. Everything was calm until the thing actually started to _make_ the coffee.

It started out as a small gurgling sound, but soon it grew and grew into a full-out growl. Caught unawares and scared out of his wits (since he was being growled at by an appliance) Ulquiorra dashed away to the opposite end of the kitchen where the table was.

He sat down in the chair across from him Ichigo and the teenager engaged him into a glaring competition. Or, it was more accurately an Ichigo-glare-at-Ulquiorra-and-Ulquiorra-cower-under-the-table competition. Ichigo arched and eyebrow when he watched the Arrancar duck under the wooden surface.

Isshin came back over a minute later carrying two bowls of rice and a cup of coffee. He stopped when he saw his son calmly – if not a bit annoyed - eating his rice while Ulquiorra gazed fearfully at the teenager's legs and shoes from under the table. The older of the two sighed and set the bowls and cup down before crouching down to see Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra," he started and the Arrancar flinched and curled up with his knees against his chest, eyes closed tight. Isshin sighed; this was going to take some getting used to, "I have some breakfast for you."

The two green eyes with tear-like lines leading from them peered cautiously out from behind Ulquiorra's knees. What if the food was poisoned? It would make sense since those shinigami had tried to kill him last night. Did this man know them?

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Isshin saw the way Ulquiorra's eyes changed to confusion and felt like hitting his head against the table. The guy probably thought he, Isshin Kurosaki, was trying to kill him with _food_. Ichigo's dad told himself he'd find a quicker way of killing someone instead of poisoning them. By the way, Yuzu would wake up soon and she would think it was weird seeing a stranger hiding under her kitchen table.

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Yuzu yawned. She was glad it was Saturday; it meant she could relax instead of going to school.

The girl made her way sleepily into the bathroom where she brushed her teeth, combed her hair and got dressed before heading downstairs to eat breakfast. When she arrived at the kitchen, however, she stopped in confusion.

"Dad," she asked curiously, "why is that man hiding under the table?"

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The second Isshin heard Yuzu's voice he turned to see his daughter standing in the kitchen's doorway.

"Yuzu!" he said, smiling, "Um, well, you see, this man was homeless and-"

"He's not-"Ichigo interrupted.

"Exactly, Ichigo! He's _no longer_ homeless because he will be living with us!" Isshin sent his son a "Just follow along" glance but Ichigo huffed and forced another bite of rice into his mouth.

"Ooh! Is that why you were gone last night?" Yuzu asked innocently.

_How did she know?! She must've not been asleep!_ Isshin hesitated for a minute before agreeing, "Right!"

"Why does he have that horn?" the girl added.

"Ah…um….it's…a…it's a rare disease called "Bone-itis" that causes your body to grow abnormal pieces of bone!" Isshin made it up as he went along and Ichigo snorted.

"Oh," Yuzu nodded and softened up towards Ulquiorra, "Aw, why are you hiding?"

"I'm scared," Ulquiorra replied very, very quietly.

Yuzu's mind took it the wrong way since she didn't know what happened between Ulquiorra and Ichigo – much less the shinigami last night.

"Don't worry! You look fine; nobody will laugh at you because you have a bunch of bone and a horn covering your hair! Don't be scared!" she cooed and lightly pulled him into a chair, "Now, let's eat some breakfast!"

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**X3 Yuzu's so nice, isn't she? Yesh, I love Yuzu (not literally), and I found out that she was born on the same day as me! May 6!**

**I thought I'd base this chapter mostly on Ulquiorra meeting Yuzu :) ha, the poor guy's scared of Ichigo and the coffee maker…I feel sorry for him…By the way – this story's coffee maker is based on my own – it's very old and makes a growling noise whenever it starts brewing coffee --;**

**Please review!**


	3. 3: Nightmares

**This is just a little thing that popped into my mind after deciding it was _my _turn to add to the population of emo-stories here on It was originally a oneshot but people wanted me to continue it so her it is! A fully-fledged longer story XD Ulquiorra's OOC, so DO NOT FLAME ME FOR IT you have been warned. **

**Warning: OOC**

**Disclaimer: this is strictly fan-made and I do not own _any_ of the Bleach characters or even Bleach itself…**

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"Does it hurt?" Yuzu asked sadly as she reached up to touch Ulquiorra's hollow horn.

The Arrancar visibly flinched at the contact, not knowing whether she meant harm or comfort. His forest-green eyes cracked open when the small girl retracted her hand as he recoiled.

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Ulquiorra had begun living in the Kurosaki residence after Isshin Kurosaki had found him nearly-dead at the feet of the Gotei 13's captains Hitsugaya, Soifon and General Yamamoto. The elder captain, Yamamoto, agreed that Ulquiorra was no longer a threat (since his powers had been sealed) and allowed Isshin to take the Arrancar in as a member of his family. Being the kind man he is, Isshin did indeed take Ulquiorra under his roof, but the Arrancar was much more different from the last time he met Ichigo. The Arrancar was much more shy and easily-scared, also he seemed much more nervous around anything that moved – even the coffee maker!

But that didn't seem to faze Yuzu, one of Ichigo's younger sisters. She had made it her job to take care of Ulquiorra (even though she didn't know what he and the other Arrancar had done to Soul Society and the Shinigami). Even though Yuzu didn't understand why Ulquiorra had a horn and a plate of bone-like substance covering the left half of his hair, she was trying to mold a friendship with him.

Karin was currently staying over at a friends house, and did not know of the new family member.

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"How about we watch a movie," she said cheerily and went over to the TV.

Ulquiorra watched her select a movie called "Princess Mononoke" before she popped it into the DVD player and sat back down on the couch.

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"Do you really think it was safe to leave him with Yuzu?" Ichigo growled to his dad as the two shinigami held a conference in Isshin's room.

"I have a feeling he won't hurt her," Isshin replied, knowing his son was just overly-protective of his younger sister.

They were startled out of their conversation when they heard Yuzu yelp from the living room. Fearing what might have happened, Ichigo and his dad raced to the room.

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Ulquiorra sat timidly watching the film. A boy was riding an elk towards a watchtower – what was this movie about, anyways? His mind wandered to different possibilities until a gruesome sight appeared before him. A giant boar, covered in slimy, red worm-like creatures burst out from the undergrowth. Taken by immediate surprise and grasped by fear, Ulquiorra latched onto the nearest comfort – Yuzu – earning a surprised cry from the much younger girl.

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"What happened?!" Ichigo demanded as he saw Yuzu trying to pry Ulquiorra from her waist, "Ulquiorra," he hissed with a deathly voice, "let go of my sister."

Emerald eyes with sparks of fear in them opened and widened when they caught sight of Ichigo and Isshin standing over him and Yuzu. The Arrancar quickly released his grip on Ichigo's sister and cowered in the couch's corner, what were they going to do to him?

To his surprise, but it also added to his uncertain fear, Ichigo walked over to the couch and sat down between Ulquiorra and Yuzu. The Arrancar stayed huddled on the sofa with his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms holding them in place. His chin and lower-half of his face were hidden behind his knees but his eyes could see over them.

"Ulquiorra," Isshin said calmly, but the half-hollow shied away when the ex-shinigami captain neared him, eyes still wide with fright, "I'm going out for a bit, so Ichigo is in charge. Listen to him and do whatever he tells you, alright?"

The Arrancar nodded slightly and Isshin walked out the door, smiling at the trio before he left.

"So," Ichigo started as soon as the door closed, but stopped when Ulquiorra leaned towards him, eyes rapidly closing, and lay on his lap, "…"

"I think he's tired, Ichi-nii," Yuzu whispered.

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Indeed, Ulquiorra was exhausted. So much panicking at once took a great toll on the Arrancar, and he fell asleep before he knew what was happening. It so happened that Ichigo was the closest cushion so Ulquiorra unconsciously decided to lay on him.

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Ichigo sighed. _Now _what was he supposed to do? He had an Arrancar asleep on his lap, Yuzu was closely watching a movie she'd seen at least a hundred times, and his dad was at the store.

_Might as well put him in his bed_, Ichigo thought and slung his left arm under Ulquiorra's legs and used his right to support the Arrancar's back.

He walked up the stairs, somehow opened his bedroom's door with his foot, and set Ulquiorra in the closet-bed, the one Rukia used when she stayed at Ichigo's house. The Arrancar shifted slightly in his sleep but didn't wake up, so Ichigo suspected it was safe to leave him alone in the room, and went back downstairs.

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Pain.

That was all Ulquiorra's dream, or a nightmare was a more accurate term, was about. It showed the day he died, the second the gunman's bullet collided with his heart. Next came the day he became a hollow. The cursed mask spread over his face faster than he could control. Then _he_ appeared.

Aizen made it possible for him to remove his hollow mask using a peculiar orb. Ulquiorra, still a full-hollow, raised his hand to grab hold of his mask. He pulled at it and a resounding **_crack_** filled his ears. A roar, so full of pain and misery, swept through the dream world until the only thing left was the present-day Ulquiorra, limp and unmoving on the ground in front of Aizen.

He had become an Arrancar.

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As the dream ended, all of the unbearable pain from the procedure of becoming an Arrancar flowed back into Ulquiorra. His hands unknowingly clawed at his face and soon it became too much to tolerate and he let out a bloodcurdling yell – it was the only way to let his misery out.

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Ichigo and Yuzu's head snapped up from where they lolled against the back of the couch when they heard Ulquiorra's scream. Faster than lightning, the brightly-haired teenager was up the stairs and slamming open his bedroom door. He swept over to the closet where Ulquiorra was panting and sobbing, a sheet was covering the Arrancar's quivering form but his horn pierced through the white fabric.

"Ulquiorra!" Ichigo said commandingly, not know what was wrong, "What is it?"

Not really knowing what he was doing, Ulquiorra struck out with his fists, thinking Ichigo was Grimmjow or Aizen. His eyes opened and he removed the sheet from his head only to come face-to-face with a stunned – and bloody-nosed – Ichigo.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" he gasped and backed away as Ichigo reached out a hand.

"Come here," Ichigo said calmly, dabbing at his nose with the sleeve of his shirt and beckoning to Ulquiorra with his other hand. _Just try to be nice, Ichigo,_ he said to himself in his head,_ remember, we're trying to get answers out of him._

The Arrancar cautiously inched forward, Isshin said to do whatever Ichigo told him to, after all.

Ichigo led him over to the teenager's own bed and had him sit down. Ulquiorra's eyes were downcast as he toyed with the corner of his coat to keep his eyes averted from the teenager's.

"I'm sorry," he said at last, though very quietly.

"Just don't do it again," Ichigo said.

"I…had a dream," the Arrancar said softly and out-of-the-blue, "about the day…I became an Arrancar."

"Why did you yell?" the shinigami asked.

"It hurt," Ulquiorra replied in the same voice a scared child would.

Ichigo's eyes softened considerably. He couldn't imagine how painful it would be to have to remove his hollow mask _permanently_. But then his conscience kicked in and he turned back into the cold, Arrancar-hating Ichigo.

_He killed shinigami and works for Aizen_, his conscience said, _remember that._

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Ulquiorra's eyes saddened more when he watched Ichigo's eyes turn from soft and understanding back to cold and uncaring. He guessed the orange-haired kid would never really accept him into his family.

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**Yep, there's another chapter. I changed it around a bit since Ichigo would actually act colder towards Ulquiorra (since he's an Arrancar, y'know? Oh, thanks for telling me that too, Ax112 )...**

**I love Ulquiorra…even though I've only seen him in the anime so I have NO idea of how he acts (or at least not really. I kinda searched around on the internet and found out but he's gonna be OOC anyways) --;**

**Please review!**


	4. 4: Remembering

**Here is the long-awaited 4th chapter. And I've realized something – I only write these chapters around 11:00 at night until 2:00 in the morning. That's most likely why I came up with an idea for such an OOC Ulquiorra Oo kinda weird that I haven't noticed this before…**

**Thanks everyone for your reviews :) I hope you enjoy this chapter**

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A sigh escaped Ichigo's lips. How long was that freak, Ulquiorra, going to be here? Flinching every time Ichigo looked his way was one thing, but actually having to _live_ with the Arrancar and put up with his random emotional breakdowns was plain annoying.

_What happened to him that made him like this? From what I recall Ulquiorra's supposed to be an emotionless, overly-observant bastard,_ Ichigo growled in his head, and re-thought over what his dad had told him when he first brought Ulquiorra home.

"_Ichigo, let me explain," _his dad had said,_ "Ulquiorra was a thread away from dieing when I reached him. Three of Soul Society's captains and Yamamoto-sou-taichou had come here to the human world to get rid of him, and the only reason he's alive right now is because I convinced Yamamoto-sou-taichou to keep him alive so we can get information about the Arrancar. I know what you're thinking, that it's not worth keeping him alive, but believe me, Ichigo, it is."_

Wait a minute…so Ulquiorra had almost died at the hands of three of Soul Society's best shinigami and the general Yamamoto himself...That could really explain the traumatized nature of the Arrancar. Ichigo shuddered as he imagined being beaten down to near-death by _three_ shinigami captains and the highest-ranking, most powerful man in Soul Society. But still, Ulquiorra was supposed to be the _strongest Arrancar_! Ichigo always got the impression that even dying couldn't faze the guy, so what had happened?

_You're thinking too hard_, he told himself and put the matter aside for the time being.

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"…and once the edges turn golden-brown that means they're done!" Yuzu finished re-telling the cooking directions for chocolate-chip cookies.

Ulquiorra was standing in the kitchen with his new friend, Yuzu. The much younger girl was busy mixing ingredients for cookies together in a big bowl while the Arrancar cracked the eggs, poured in the chocolate chips and got everything else they needed. He had already spilled quite a few eggs on the kitchen floor, causing them to lose five of the fragile ingredients, but the young brunette girl had waved it off and showed him how to properly crack them open without including bits and pieces of the white shells.

"Ok, so then we need one and a half cups of flour," Yuzu told her assistant and Ulquiorra dug one of the measuring cups into the bag of white dust.

He stopped when he felt a tingling sensation in the back of his nose. Ulquiorra's eyes started watering up as the flour dust drifted up from the bag a little and tickled his nose. Soon enough, he sneezed.

And the kitchen was covered in complete whiteness.

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A few hours later, both Ulquiorra and Yuzu had finished cleaning the kitchen and making the cookies. The Arrancar was now bored and didn't really want to watch TV with Yuzu since he had to explain to her why he had a hole in his neck (which she didn't understand so it was all a waste of time) and had hung out with her enough for the day. So, he went up to his and Ichigo's room.

When he arrived there, Ulquiorra was surprised to see the teen staring blankly up at the ceiling. He had never really considered thinking about where Ichigo had been the past few hours. Seeing that the orange-haired shinigami was lost in thought, Ulquiorra was about to slither back into the closet when Ichigo's voice stopped him.

"Hey," he said, "what were you doing down there?"

"Making chocolate-chip cookies with Yuzu," Ulquiorra shrugged.

"Oh," was all Ichigo said afterwards so Ulquiorra decided that it was safe to retreat into the dark space of the closet.

He sat there for quite some time, thinking over what had happened ever since he had been brought to this house. Even though it had only been a couple days, so much had happened.

_What am I doing here, anyways?_ Ulquiorra wondered to himself.

That thought immediately made something spark in the back of his mind. An image came up, a man in white clothing with dark-brown hair sitting on a throne. There was another person – a man with teal-blue hair and a hollow's right jaw – standing nearby.

_I know them…but who are they…?_ He thought, trying to think of their names,_ Wait, I remember now! That brown-haired man sent me here to eliminate Kurosaki Ichigo!_

The smallest of small smiles tugged at the corner of Ulquiorra's lips. All he needed to do was figure out how to get rid of the shinigami brat without a sword…

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Out in the driveway, Karin was just getting out of her friend's car. The two-day sleepover had finally ended, even though she and her friends didn't really "sleep", and now it was time to go back to her own room and fall asleep. She waved goodbye to her friends and made her way into the house.

"I'm home!" she announced in a tired way and sluggishly made her way up to her room.

She put down her backpack that she had brought with her and looked around for her brush (since she had forgotten to bring it) but couldn't find it. Wondering if she had maybe left it in her brother's room, Karin made her way across the hall to the teenager's lair.

"Ichi-nii," she started as she opened the door, "have you seen my brush?"

"No, why would it be in my room?" Ichigo asked, arching an eyebrow in confusion.

"Hmm," Karin muttered as her eyes roved around his room. They settled on the closet door. Aha! Maybe she forgot it in there when she was getting the blankets she had brought to the sleepover!

"Wait-Karin!" Ichigo scrambled over the side of his bed but couldn't warn his sister about the unaware 'guest' before she slid open the door.

"You _are_ aware that there's some freak hiding out in your closet, right?" Yuzu asked flatly.

"Y-yeah," her brother was stunned by the fact that she was acting so calm.

Yuzu slammed the closet door shut, not caring that Ulquiorra had been holding her brush (for she had indeed left it in Ichigo's room) and stalked back to her room.

Once she had left, Ichigo reopened his closet's door and snatched his sister's brush out of the Arrancar's hands. Ulquiorra blinked in surprise but didn't flinch like he usually did. The carrot-head noticed this and wondered that maybe, just maybe, Ulquiorra was starting to act _normal_.

"That's Karin's," Ichigo grumbled, "Don't play around with it."

Ulquiorra totally caught him off-guard with an icy glare. Ichigo gave him an astonished looked before escaping to Karin's room. For some reason the guy looked like he was ready to tear him to shreds. The teenager opened his sister's door and set the comb on her dresser. Karin was asleep so Ichigo made sure to close the door as quietly as he could.

"Who is she?" an emotionless voice behind him demanded.

Ichigo jumped and spun around to see Ulquiorra standing against the opposite wall. The Arrancar's arms were crossed and he looked at Ichigo, silently ordering him to answer.

"My sister, Karin," Ichigo replied and edged away until he was able to scurry downstairs. That guy, Ulquiorra, seemed dangerous now that he wasn't acting so weak.

_Why did he change all of a sudden?_ Ichigo asked himself, _One thing's for sure, now he probably won't tell us about the Arrancar or Aizen._

He sat down on the couch next to Yuzu but directed his attention to the stairs when he saw Ulquiorra walking down them. The frightened-animal look was back in his eyes but Ichigo knew that he was faking it, and that he was really fearless of everything around him. Ulquiorra seated himself between the two Kurosaki kids and gave Ichigo an evil, 'Watch your back because I may just kill you' look. Yuzu was oblivious to it and continued to watch the TV.

_He's definitely an Arrancar again_, Ichigo thought worriedly.

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**First, I'll clear up that last line:**

"**He's definitely an Arrancar again" means that Ulquiorra's being his old, shinigami-hating, Aizen's-pet self. Ichigo still knew Ulquiorra was an Arrancar ect. Ect.. Just saying this so no one's confused --; (Ulquiorra has forgotten Aizen and the others' names though)**

**I think this chapter's shorter than the others…four pages long X( **

**Sorry…**


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